Eddy Crane (Tony Travis) is a newly discovered singer who must choose between his gang or becoming a professional singer.


This movie is part of the collection: Feature Films

Producer: Edward Heite, Ron Miller
Production Company: Glenville Productions
Audio/Visual: sound, b&w
Keywords: crime, drama

Creative Commons license: Public Domain

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Reviewer: JD Kay - - June 12, 2011
Subject: Peter Breck is over the top here!
Imagine if those kids from Riverdale High School, (Archie, Jughead, Veronica and two other punks) were juvenile delinquent dropouts in 1958.
Add some 'hep' songs, a mediocre plot, and Paul Frees and you've got this cool little film.
No, it's not about beatniks at all. Real beatniks recite poetry, drink massive amounts of coffee and pop lots of Benzedrine, listen to hard bop or cool jazz...and dig Jack Kerouac.
These cretins rob, steal and verbally abuse any adult that happens to be in the vicinity. Peter Breck is awesome as he totally gets under your skin like a bad reaction to cheap talcum powder.
The songs are good too; if only for their kitsch value. This has played a few times on Drexel University's TV station DUTV. Absolutely worth checking out...at least watch the first ten minutes.

Reviewer: nigeldavahah - - November 3, 2010
Subject: the beat
goes on !!!

Reviewer: billbarstad - - November 3, 2010
Subject: Fun, Fun, Fun!
"Sideburns don't need your sympathy."

With a lyric as meaningless as that, you have an idea of the fun this frothy nothingness of a movie provides. As others have noted, this isn't a beatnik movie, but a crime drama involving some young hoodlums and a singing career for their leader. I can't think of an actual beatnik movie here other than the horror comedy A Bucket of Blood in which beatniks are parodied.

The cast provided wonderful absurdity. There's Helen (Joyce Terry), the startling blonde insectoid love interest trying to draw Eddy (Tony Travis) away from his criminal friends, Iris (Karen Kadler), Eddy's jealous main squeeze, uttering overwrought and just plain terrible lines, and the over-the-top psychopathic behavior of Mooney (Peter Breck), who is also jealous of Eddy, and finds his own pathway to fame.

It's fun to count how many times Eddy says variations of "Shut up, Iris." I've seen this MST3K'ed. It's still available on DVD. It's very entertaining either way!

Reviewer: cosmico - - August 31, 2010
Subject: The Beatniks
The only thing *really* wrong with this film is the inappropriate title. Otherwise, an okay little b-movie of the kind Roger Corman's Filmgroup used to churn out. Considering the circumstances, Paul Frees did a fine job. Disagree? Then you try it!

Reviewer: doowopbob - - August 31, 2010
Subject: ....The Copyright....
....Reads 1958..Not 1960....Which Makes It A 50s J/D Flick..!...Peter Breck Was "Discovered" By Robert Mitchum At A Play In D.C That Peter Was In.Mitchum Brought Him To Hollywood, Gave Him A Role In Thunder Road..! Here In His Film Debut He's 29..!..Some Teenagers..!..And Beatniks They Ain't..!

Reviewer: Hugo Sleestak - - February 17, 2009
Subject: Filmed in the run down part of Mayberry
This is a great bad movie. It looks like it's an episode of "The Andy Griffith Show" gone horribly wrong. Beehive hairdo's on the old Aunt Bee's, chubby guys wearing clothes from Mayberry's Fashionable Man line who think they're beatniks ... it's just loads of fun. You even have the beatnik who talks tough but thinks he's a cross between Frank Sinatra and Frankie Avalon. Actually, Tony Travis was a pretty good singer, but the Beatles were just over the horizon ...

Reviewer: DrPretorious - - July 24, 2008
Subject: The Beatniks
A tale about some middle aged " beatniks " that just can't make the scene. Dreadfully awful in a flat out funny way..man it's swingin.

Dr P

Reviewer: flickfdude - - July 19, 2008
Subject: MP4 worked
Plays good in VLC player

Reviewer: jimelena - - June 4, 2007
Subject: No thanks
If you'd like to see a good version, watch the MST3K.

Reviewer: SpaceFan - - May 20, 2007
Subject: The Beatniks
The mp4 plays fine for me with vlc or quicktime. The flash player version works in-browser. I didn't try the other ones.